Valentin Gomez Farias

Valentin Gomez Farias (14 February 1781-5 July 1858) was President of Mexico from 1 April to 16 May 1833 (succeeding Manuel Gomez Pedraza and preceding Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna), from 3 to 18 June 1833 (interrupting Santa Anna's terms), from 5 July to 27 October 1833 (interrupting Santa Anna's terms), from 16 December 1833 to 24 April 1834 (interrupting Santa Anna's terms), and from 23 December 1846 to 21 March 1847 (succeeding Jose Mariano Salas and preceding Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna).

Biography
Valentin Gomez Farias was born in Guadalajara, New Spain in 1781, and he was a trained medical doctor before going on to become one of the most prominent liberal politicians in post-independence Mexico. He initially supported Agustin de Iturbide's creation of a constitutional monarchy, but he opposed his dissolution of the Mexican Congress. Gomez emerged as a leader of the radical liberals in the Congress and supported Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, often taking over administration of the government during Santa Anna's stays at his estate in Veracruz during his presidency. Gomez Farias intermittently served as president several times from 1833 to 1834, during which time he abolished the special privileges (fueros) of the Catholic Church and the Mexican Army, secularized education, and undermined the Church's economic power. He also reduced the size of the military to prevent future coups and limit the political influence of the army. In 1834, conservative opponents of Gomez's radical reforms (including Santa Anna) forced him into political exile, but the turbulence of the 1840s brought him back into the political sphere. He became President after Santa Anna resigned in order to fight the United States during the Mexican-American War, but Santa Anna launched another coup to oust Gomez from power in 1847. Gomez died in 1858 at the age of 77.